California wildfires threaten homes worth $65bn

A total of 172,117 homes with a combined reconstruction cost value (RCV) of more than $65 billion are at some level of risk from the wildfires in the Napa and Santa Rosa metropolitan areas, according to data provider CoreLogic’s hazard risk analysis.

The analysis relates to five active fires – three in Napa and two in Santa Rosa. Statewide, a total of 9.1 million homes with a combined RCV of $3.1 trillion are at some level of risk from wildfires in California.

Of the total at-risk homes in Napa and Santa Rosa, 11,058, or 6 percent, with an estimated RCV of more than $5 billion are at significant risk of damage, falling in the high and extreme risk categories, according to CoreLogic data.

Although the majority of homes, 161,059, or 94 percent, are at low or moderate risk of damage, wildfire can easily expand to adjacent properties and cause significant damage even if a property is not considered high risk in its own right, according to the statement.

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